


Texting Insomniacs

by pherryt



Series: Tumblr Ficlets [20]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Insomnia, M/M, Nightmares, Texting, insomniac!cas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-16 11:06:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16952835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pherryt/pseuds/pherryt
Summary: Dean just wants a decent night of sleep for once and Castiel seems bent on making sure that'll never happen, and when Dean snaps, things go south real fast.





	Texting Insomniacs

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr Prompt 67 dmsilvisart asked: Destiel 28. ‘Stop texting me weird stuff at night.’

Dean groggily blinked his eyes open and rolled over with a groan. He peered blearily at his clock and groaned again. His phone – the reason he was awake – chirped and he sighed, groping at his bedside table for the cursed thing.

He thumbed it open to find a text from Cas. As usual. Not a night passed that his best friend didn’t text Dean at least once – usually about the most inane things.

He hadn’t minded so much when they were younger, when his ability to fall back asleep at the drop of a hat was a well-honed godsend that he’d taken for granted.

Well, not anymore. He would never take it for granted ever again should that skill return. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a good night’s sleep and it was driving him insane, he was sure of it. As much as he loved Cas – something he’d been hiding for at least the last 8 years – come one morning, Dean was going to take a hammer to his phone and then it simply wouldn’t be a problem anymore.

Cas 1:23 AM: Did you know that when the Trex animatronic for Jurassic Park malfunctioned, it looked like it was alive?

Cas 1:23 AM: It did that a lot in the rain which, as you know, was highly crucial for that iconic scene.

Dean: 1:25 AM: Normally Id be all 4 random movie trivia but Cas I need sleep

Dean: 1:26 AM: Tell me 2morrow

Cas: 1:26 AM: Of course, Dean

The next night was the same at almost exactly the same time. And the night after that, and the night after that, just like it had been for years before.

“Dean did you know – “

“I read the other day –“

“Isn’t it amazing how –“

Dean cursed the invention of cell phones and his need to keep it nearby for emergencies. During the day, Cas’s texts were a welcome thing but at night he was losing sleep because of them. After a particularly long day – hell, a fucking long week, with his alarm set for way too fucking early in the morning – Dean readied himself for bed. He had a crucial meeting in the morning and he was so damn exhausted.

He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

Of course, Dean didn’t get to stay asleep. His phone chirped once, twice, three times before he fumbled for it. Without even checking Cas’s messages, he simply typed out.

Dean 2:06 AM: Stop texting me weird stuff at night, man – I really need to fucking sleep

Dean 2:06 AM: And I can’t do that if you won’t leave me alone

He dropped the phone to the table and rolled over, firmly closing his eyes. Guilt wracked him and kept him awake, however. He hated being so short with Cas but he needed to sleep. Cas would understand. Right?

The phone was blessedly quiet, but it was too late.

No matter how long he lay there, Dean couldn’t fall asleep.

He spent his entire day in a foul mood and a sleepy haze. His coffee maker was broken and when he stopped at Dunkin’s he didn’t get two sips of it before he spilled it all over himself and the Impala. The early morning meeting was nearly a disaster. Only quick thinking on Bobby’s part saved the deal. He dropped his tool box on his foot and – well, the day didn’t get much better from there.

The next day didn’t pass any better. Despite the fact that Cas didn’t text once that night, or the next, Dean found he couldn’t sleep. Between 1 and 2 am, Dean woke with a start, convinced he’d forgotten something very important.

After 3 more days of this, it dawned on him that he not only had not heard from Cas in the wee hours of the morning as Dean had requested (Demanded was more like), but not at any other point of the day either. And Dean missed his best friend terribly. It contributed to Dean’s increasingly foul mood and his ever-increasing sleepless nights.

Why hadn’t Cas messaged him?

Then again, why hadn’t Dean?

Dean 3:38 PM: Hey dude – movie & pizza nite 2nite? My treat

Dean 4:32 PM: U in or what?

Dean 5:17 PM: Hey buddy, u Ok? Havent heard from u in a while

He typed out the words “I miss you” and deleted them before hitting send at the last minute, then opening a new text, to Cas’s brother.

Dean 5: 20 PM: Hey, is Cas ok?

As he waited for a response, so many things ran through his head of what could have happened to Cas in the few brief days they hadn’t talked. Or that maybe Cas was mad at him. What if Dean had ruined their friendship for good?

That thought had him hyperventilating and he had to shove it away.

Gabriel 5:21 PM: Why don’t you pull your head of your ass and ask him yourself.

Gabriel 5:21 PM: I’m not my brother’s keeper. That’s your job.

Gabriel 5:21 PM: Now for the love of god, kiss and make up already. I need my sleep.

Dean stared at his phone. “Well, that was uncalled for,” he grumped aloud to the empty room. What had that been all about? Gabriel made it sound like he and Cas had broken up, but if Dean were dating anybody – especially Cas – he sure as hell would have known that. Had Cas really been that upset with Dean? Was it really that bad that Dean just wanted a single night worth of uninterrupted sleep? Seriously?

The more he thought about it, the more it bothered him, till he stood up, grabbed his jacket and his keys, shoved his feet into his boots and left. 20 minutes later, he was standing in front of Cas’s door with 2 boxes of pizza and a six pack. He shuffled till he could use his hand to knock and did so.

There was silence for a while and Dean knocked again, wondering if this had been a good idea. There wasn’t even any guarantee that Cas was home (He worked from home. He had to be home) and he hadn’t answered any of Dean’s texts.

Dean knocked for a third time and finally he heard movement. He breathed a sigh of relief that lasted only as long as it took for Cas to open the door.

“Fuck! You look like shit!” he blurted.

“Thank you. So do you.” Cas’s voice was flat as he opened the door further. He didn’t move out of the way. “What are you doing here?”

“Look, wanted to apologize for the other night and hey, man, I missed ya! So what do you say? Pizza? Beers? Netflix?” Dean waggled his eyebrows at Cas and the small hint of a smile appeared as the man let him in.

Dean toed off his boots and didn’t even bother bringing anything in to the kitchen. He headed straight for the couch and placed the boxes and the beers on the beat-up coffee table. Netflix was already on, and it looked like Cas had been binge-watching…Dean squinted at the tv…Reality TV? Oh boy, things were worse than he thought.

He sat on the couch beside Cas who was already curled up in a blanket and a slice of pizza – sans plates – in his hand. The man looked exhausted, ragged. Dean knew he kept his own hours. Being able to work from home helped with that, but what the hell?

“Dude, haven’t you been sleeping?”

“Not really. What about you?”

“God, I’d kill for a decent night’s sleep. I can’t remember the last time I had one.”

“So…my texting at odd hours…when I stopped…?”

“Didn’t fucking help. Now I wake up waiting for them. Isn’t that weird? I wake up and stare at the ceiling and I can’t even get back to sleep afterwards. At least when you texted me I could fall back asleep.” Dean admitted with a sigh, grabbing two of the beers. He used the coffee table to pop the tops off and handed one over to Cas. “It didn’t help a damn bit, so, you can, y’know, if you want…”

“Dean, are you’re saying you missed me?” Cas said, his mouth full of pizza as his other hand accepted the beer.

“Dude, you must be more tired than I am. I said that when I walked in,” Dean took a swig of his own bottle, still cold since he’d just picked it up. “Look, I know why I’m tired. What about you? And what was Gabriel talking about? That he needed sleep?”

“You texted my brother?” Cas blinked at Dean in surprise. Dean blushed.

“You weren’t answerin’, Cas. I was uh…a little concerned,” Dean said, not looking at Cas. He took a huge bite of his pizza.

Despite his attempts to not look, Dean still caught Cas looking at him incredulously out of the corner of his eyes. “Haven’t you ever wondered why I send you messages at all hours of the day?”

“Um…no? I mean, its what you’ve always done, so I just…it’s you,” Dean said, his words garbled because of the pizza. He turned to face Cas. “I just came to expect it. Hell, most of the time, I was really looking forward to it. One of your crazy texts can turn a bad day right side up again. I just…I thought that’s how it was.” Dean ended the statement slowly, swallowing the lump of cheese, dough and sauce in his throat. “Cas, is something wrong?”

If he’d felt guilty before, Dean felt extra guilty now. The way Cas had asked the question had made Dean reevaluate everything in a flash. It was odd, now that he thought about it, to be texting or calling at any hour. Even though Dean knew Cas kept his own hours…when did he sleep?

Cas shook his head and smiled. “No, everything’s fine. Just been a rough few days, that’s all.” After that, the matter dropped and the two of them ate their pizza and watched Netflix.

Dean didn’t know what time it was when he jerked awake. The room was dark and there was something warm on top of him. He pulled the warmth closer, realizing as it shifted that it wasn’t his blanket, but Cas. They were both so fucking tired, they’d fallen asleep on the couch. He stifled a laugh. He wasn’t sure what to do. He felt awkward basically cuddling a man that didn’t know Dean had a crush on him. But on the other hand, he didn’t want to wake cas up. It was obvious that he needed his sleep as much as Dean did. As he debated the idea, Dean’s heavy eyelids drifted shut, his body tabling the dilemma for now.

A jerking motion had him waking up again, much later, according to the clock, about 1am. Dean’s grip on Cas tightened and then he heard it – Cas was breathing hard, small whimpers pulling from his throat.

“Cas?” Dean’s voice was still sleepy, but concerned. Rolling carefully, Dean tried to peer into his face. “Cas, are you all right?” Dean reached a hand up to touch Cas’s face and his friends eyes flew open on a gasp. He jerked back and would have fallen off the narrow couch save for Dean’s quick reflexes. He rolled to his back, bringing Cas with him, helping him settle face own on top of Dean. Cas groaned and let his head thunk on Dean’s chest.

After a moment, he tilted it to peer at Dean apologetically. “I’m sorry, Dean. I didn’t mean to wake you. I know you’re tired – “

“Dude…I saw the clock – do you wake up at this time every night like this?”

“Not…always…” Cas’s eyes slid away. “Sometimes I’m already awake. Or…”

“Or?” Dean prodded.

“It uh…happens a lot. Sometimes a few times a night.” Cas admitted slowly. Dean wondered if he would have, if he’d been rested.

“Shit, no wonder you look exhausted! How long - ?”

“Since I was a child. And no, going to the doctor didn’t help. Taking sleeping pills doesn’t help either. It’s just…bad dreams, old memories,” Cas said tiredly, sadly. Without even realizing it, Dean’s hand started stroking Cas’s back and he watched those sleepy eyes start to droop.

“Does anything help?”

“Mhmm,” Cas said.

“What do you need?”

“Fss,” Cas said.

“What?” Dean blinked and strained his ears. That was certainly not English, he was sure of it.

“Jus’ you,” Cas mumbled a little clearer. “’s always been you.”

Dean’s heart skipped a beat and his next breath was shaky. “Wait, is that why you always—”

“Mhmm,” Cas curled into Dean a little closer, completely unaware of how he’d taken the mans breath away by that one, simple sound. He continued to run a soothing hand along Cas’s spine and stared down at the man quickly falling back asleep in his arms. “Don’ leave me…”

The last words came out slow and soft and Dean almost missed them. His heart ached and he swallowed thickly. “Never, Cas. I promise.”


End file.
